Commercial Fire Risk Assessment In Nottingham

An Assessment Of How Your Business Actually Operates

A commercial fire risk assessment examines the risk to life from fire in the premises you control. It looks at the way a fire could start, the people who could be exposed and whether existing precautions support safe escape. A generic checklist cannot explain how shared stairs, changing stock levels or evening contractors affect your building.

We scope the assessment around your occupancy, activities and management responsibilities. That could mean a single shop, a school building, a workshop with an office above it or several tenants sharing one entrance. The starting point is to establish what is included and who controls the areas outside that boundary.

When To Arrange The Work

Arrange an assessment when taking responsibility for premises, opening a new business location or finding that the existing report no longer describes the building. A change of use, an extension, a new partition or a different evacuation strategy can all change the risk. An insurer or lease requirement may also prompt a review, but it does not replace your statutory duties.

In a multi-occupied property, ask the landlord for the assessment of the shared parts. Your own report should connect with those arrangements rather than assume someone else has dealt with them. Record who manages the alarm, escape stairs, service cupboards and final exits so that defects reach the person able to resolve them.

Legal Duties And The Assessment Boundary

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 is the main framework for commercial premises in England. The responsible person must arrange a suitable and sufficient assessment and maintain appropriate precautions. Employing an assessor helps with this work, but responsibility for acting on the findings remains with the person who controls the premises.

An assessment is a judgement about life safety, not a building-control approval or a guarantee against fire. It does not automatically include opening up concealed construction, testing electrical installations or servicing the alarm. Those tasks need their own agreed scope and, where necessary, a relevant specialist.

What The Inspection Covers

We consider ignition sources such as electrical equipment, cooking and hot work alongside packaging, furnishings, waste and other fuel. The inspection follows the routes people would use to escape and checks whether doors, stairs and exit arrangements are suitable for the people using them. It also considers detection, warning, emergency lighting and firefighting equipment at an assessment level.

Management matters as much as the physical installation. We ask how staff receive instructions, how visitors are accounted for and what happens when the usual fire marshal is away. Where disabled people may need assistance, evacuation arrangements should describe practical support rather than rely on the arrival of the fire service.

The Work, Step By Step

• Confirm the site, occupancy, assessment boundary and access arrangements.
• Review available plans, previous assessments, maintenance records and the emergency plan.
• Walk the accessible premises with someone who understands daily operations.
• Discuss findings, including anything needing prompt action, with the nominated contact.
• Record the assessment, limitations and a prioritised action plan for management.

The written report should help you distinguish a housekeeping correction from a technical question that needs further investigation. An inaccessible ceiling void or locked plant room should be recorded as a limitation, not quietly treated as satisfactory. Agree how outstanding information will be supplied and who will decide whether additional investigation is needed.

What Affects The Cost

The quotation depends on the floor area, layout, number of buildings and complexity of the activities. Shared occupation, unusual escape arrangements, out-of-hours access and incomplete records can also change the work involved. We ask for this information before defining the visit so that the proposed scope matches the premises.

Tell us if you need separate reports for different units or a consolidated action schedule across a portfolio. Remedial works and specialist surveys should be identified separately rather than assumed to be part of the assessment fee. A useful comparison between quotations checks the inspection boundary and deliverables as well as the total.

After You Receive The Report

Assign each action to someone with the authority and resources to complete it. Keep evidence such as service records, photographs or contractor documentation with the fire-safety file, and check that the action has actually addressed the issue. A report left in a folder does not change the conditions found during the visit.

For an overview of local premises, responsibilities and the enquiry process, visit our fire risk assessment Nottingham page. Our fire safety audit can help you examine the management records behind your assessment.